


Dreamcatcher.

by Miizurichan



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Amputation, Angst, Drama, M/M, Some Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-05
Updated: 2015-04-05
Packaged: 2018-03-21 10:15:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,187
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3688431
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miizurichan/pseuds/Miizurichan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Foolishly thinking his knee is alright, Oikawa doesn't wear his supporter. Because of this, he steps, jumps and lands wrong, causing major trauma to his knee. Iwaizumi doesn't know what to do with himself, all he knows is that Oikawa needs him.<br/>Many things happen before they can put this dramatic year behind them and look for a brighter future.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dreamcatcher.

**Author's Note:**

> First things first.  
> This is not a kinkfic.  
> Also, this is like my kagakuro fic where Kagami has to have an amputation surgery, though this is longer.  
> I struggled with finding motivation to finish it, but when I finally sat down with it, I saw that hey, I can actually finish this before summer. So I apologogize for the sudden speed-up right around the middle. I'm happy with this regardless of that. 
> 
> Also, you'll understand the title once you've read the fic.  
> Enjoy!

Iwaizumi knew that Oikawa was a quite clumsy person, so he was always surprised at the outcome of Oikawa’s falls and accidents. He had never broken a bone, not a single bone, and Iwaizumi figured it must have been sheer dumb luck. 

He was very relieved each time he heard he hadn’t broken anything, but he’d never admit that to Oikawa’s face. He hardly ever did admit anything to Oikawa’s face when it was about the man himself. He wasn’t shy, but Oikawa never let anyone off the hook with anything he found out. 

Iwaizumi woke up thinking it was a normal day, but he had a nagging and uncomfortable feeling in his chest. It was there when he got to Oikawa’s house to drag him out of bed as well. He’d almost go as far as saying that it got worse when he saw Oikawa. However, he convinced himself that that was just silly. 

They walked to school together and Iwaizumi didn’t listen to Oikawa’s constant talking. There was nothing out of the ordinary about that, so Oikawa didn’t stop his talking. 

It was the same all through the day and the nagging feeling only got worse. Iwaizumi was starting to get unfocused and hardly paid attention to anything around him. He tried to scan his brain for anything that could have given him this feeling. 

He knew that Oikawa’s knee had gotten a bit worse, but he didn’t worry too much about it. If it started hurting him, he’d always wear the knee supporter. He was sure that wasn’t the issue. ‘Or was it? Has it gotten that bad?’ Iwaizumi frowned and folded his hands under his chin. 

When it was time for the volleyball practice game, Iwaizumi was on edge. He almost wanted to force Oikawa to avoid participating in it. Trying to play it off like nothing, he changed into his gym clothes and walked into the gym. 

The first set of the practice match went fine and they won it, but Iwaizumi could tell that Oikawa was in pain. When he landed after jumping, he didn’t put enough weight on his knee to compensate for the force of the landing. 

Not to mention that Oikawa wasn’t wearing his knee supporter today. Iwaizumi wanted to drag Oikawa off the court and not let him play until he had healed. 

It worried Iwaizumi and he could only think of the worst-case scenario. This worst-case scenario was that Oikawa had somehow gotten a very serious anterior crucial ligament injury, a Lateral collateral ligament injury, a Medial collateral ligament injury or a Posterior crucial ligament injury. All of these were located in the knee and it worried Iwaizumi a lot. 

When the whistle was blown and the second set started, Iwaizumi was so unfocused that he didn’t see the ball fly right past him, giving the other team a point. 

Iwaizumi cursed lowly and avoided eye contact with Oikawa, who was looking at him with a somewhat worried look on his face. 

Iwaizumi didn’t protest when he was subbed out to calm down. He knew it was for the best. He could also watch over Oikawa this way.

He didn’t want to think that anything bad would happen, but Oikawa wasn’t wearing his knee supporter. He had noticed it before, but it kept bugging him. No knee supporter meant more pain and pressure on his knee. 

He buried his face in his hands and refused to look at the court, refused to look at Oikawa. 

Then he heard shoes squeaking, and a loud thump followed by a sickening crunch and a scream of pain. 

Iwaizumi’s head snapped up and he didn’t even bother to look at the others players on the court. He knew what face was missing, and he could identify that voice, that scream from anywhere. 

He dashed toward where Oikawa was laying, desperately clutching his thigh to avoid even more pain to the grotesquely bent and broken leg. 

Everything felt like it went in slow motion, he couldn’t reach Oikawa fast enough, and he couldn’t make his feet move fast enough. 

When he finally got close enough, he could see that it was the bad knee. He threw himself down beside Oikawa, but he couldn’t bring himself to touch him in any way. He could see that Oikawa was in enough pain, he didn’t want to add to it. 

His eyes welled up with tears, but he refused to let them fall. Even as Oikawa was lifted on the stretcher and let out another loud scream of pain, he didn’t let them fall. 

He didn’t let them out until he was stopped from following the medics out along with Oikawa. The coach, Sadayuki, had grabbed him around the arms and waist and locked him in an iron hold when he tried to follow. Iwaizumi was having none of that, but it was futile. 

“Let me fucking go!” He could barely hear his own voice over the blood chilling fear covering his senses. He couldn’t hear himself think over the pounding of his heart. 

“Not a chance, kid!” Sadayuki had turned them around and walked towards the locker rooms and the showers. Iwaizumi kept struggling and he was surprised when he was released in the locker room. “You don’t get to go anywhere until you’ve calmed down and changed. I know he’s your most important person, but breaking down won’t do any of you any good!” Sadayuki had given him a hard look, but it was still filled with worry, then he had left the locker room. 

Iwaizumi picked himself off the floor and wiped his eyes before throwing off all his clothes and stumbling into the showers. Rough sobs kept tearing their way from his throat, but he wasn’t crying anymore. 

\-------- 

When he had finally finished the shower and calmed down a bit more, he got dressed and packed everything down in his bag. He walked out of the locker rooms with slow steps and was surprised to see Oikawa’s parents there. 

“Why, why aren’t you…?” He could barely croak out a sentence and Oikawa’s mother just shook her head gently. “Don’t worry about that right now, let’s go to the hospital, dear.” She wrapped an arm around his shoulders and led him outside to their car. He didn’t protest; he just wanted to see Tooru. 

\---------- 

The ride to the hospital seemed too long, and when they finally came inside there was no information to get. The only thing they knew was that Tooru was in surgery. All they could do was wait. 

When an hour had passed, a doctor came down to the waiting room where they were. “Mr. and Mrs. Oikawa, would you please.” The doctor wore a serious and grim expression as he gestured for them to step outside. 

They looked at him before getting up and following him outside. Iwaizumi didn’t trust his legs, so he watched from his seat. 

He knew it was really bad news when Oikawa’s mother broke down sobbing into her husband’s arms. The doctor talked some more with Oikawa’s dad before he hurried back in the direction he came from. 

Iwaizumi looked up as they came back inside and his eye widened as Oikawa’s mother threw herself on him in a tight hug. “Oh, Hajime. You’re not going to like this.” She pulled back and wiped her eyes. “They couldn’t save his leg, but they needed permission to…to…” She couldn’t finish her sentence, but Iwaizumi understood. 

He swallowed the lump in his throat and nodded. “I… understand.” His voice sounded foreign to his own ears. Too thick, too raspy. 

He could feel tears burning in the corners of his eyes again, but it wasn’t himself he was worried about. He was worried about Tooru. It was already hard for them to accept, so he could barely imagine how hard it would be for Tooru to accept. 

\-----------

It was nearing evening when they were told that Oikawa was out of surgery and in the ICU. They still weren’t allowed to go into the room, but they could see him from the outside. 

They all walked quickly to the room, which happened to be just one floor up. Iwaizumi walked behind Tooru’s parents, and they all stopped in front of the window to the room. 

Iwaizumi rubbed his arm slightly and looked at Tooru’s unconscious body. He didn’t look like he was in pain, but he was pale. Almost sickly pale. Iwaizumi didn’t like it. He didn’t like to see Tooru in a hospital bed either. It made him sick to the stomach. 

He suddenly felt nauseous and he dashed off to the nearest toilet to empty the contents of his stomach. 

He couldn’t stand the smell in the hospitals and knowing that his best friend was lying there with a leg less didn’t help much to calm his stomach down. “Fuck.” He cursed as he flushed the toilet and stood up slowly to wash his mouth and his hands. 

His head was spinning and he wondered just how he was still able to stay on his feet. Maybe it was the need to be there when Tooru woke up that kept him standing. He didn’t know, and thinking only made things worse. 

When he walked back toward Oikawa’s parents, his mother shot him a small smile and stroked his shoulder. “He’s going to be okay. For now all we can do is wait for him to wake up.” She kissed his head softly and looked inside at her son. “I called your parents to let them know where you are. If you want to, then you can stay with us here and at our house.” She smiled softly and Iwaizumi blinked. “You’d do that? I’m sure you have more than enough to do…” Iwaizumi was going to continue talking but she cut him off. “It’s okay, don’t worry about it. Besides, he needs you as much as he needs us.” She smiled and Iwaizumi didn’t object. 

\-------------

They were led back to the waiting room when the visiting hours were over. Neither of them wanted to go, but they could accept it since they were allowed to stay in the hospital. 

Iwaizumi sunk down into the chair and pulled one of his legs to his chest. He was no way he was going to get any sleep willingly tonight. Worry buzzed through his head and he was still feeling dizzy because of the hospital smell. 

It was going to be a long night for all of them, and Iwaizumi wasn’t looking forward to it. 

\------------------------

When morning came, Iwaizumi was still awake and his stomach was growling angrily for food. He didn’t feel like eating. All he wanted to do was go up to Tooru’s room. 

He looked around in the empty waiting room and sighed softly. Iwaizumi was about to get up when he noticed Tooru’s dad walk in. “You fell asleep of exhaustion for a little while, that’s why you didn’t notice us leave.” He smiled softly and put a plate down on the table beside the chair Iwaizumi sat in. “Try to eat a little bit.” He smiled softly and sat down. 

“Don’t really feel like eating, though.” Iwaizumi looked at the food and poked it with a fork for a bit before picking up a piece to eat it. “You’ll need a bit energy, we’ll all need it. I’m not going to force you to eat it all.” Iwaizumi didn’t turn to look at him, but he nodded and ate some more. 

He knew that he didn’t want to show his weak side to Tooru at this point, not when Tooru was the one who needed his support. The other problem was that he wasn’t ready. He needed to be there for Tooru, but he didn’t want to see his first reaction when the sheets were pulled aside. He wouldn’t be able to keep his emotions in control. He was scared. 

His head snapped up when he saw a doctor come in. His heart was beating rapidly in his chest. “He’s awake, but he’s very drowsy because of the anaesthesia and the morphine.” The doctor looked at them before he turned around. Iwaizumi silently followed the doctor along with Oikawa’s parents as he tried to swallow the lump in his throat. 

When they came to the door, Iwaizumi stopped. He froze. His feet wouldn’t move. He heard Oikawa’s mom and dad walk in and speak with soft voices. He could hear Oikawa speaking back with a tired, sleepy and gruff voice. It didn’t sound like he knew what was going on with his leg. Iwaizumi could feel the nausea creeping up his throat again. 

His feet stood rooted to the ground for what felt like hours, until he heard a soft whisper of his given name. He was barely visible from the door, but Tooru had noticed him either way. 

It came again. “Hajime…” His voice sounded so broken. Iwaizumi tilted his head back, drew a deep breath and let it out as he straightened his head again and walked inside. He was scared, for Tooru. 

The first thing he noticed when he entered the room was Tooru. His eyes were half-lidded and unfocused; his hair was tousled and damp on certain areas. His right hand was raised lightly, as if waiting for Iwaizumi to take it. 

He walked slowly over to the bed, refusing to make eye contact. He sat down in the empty chair and reached forward, taking Tooru’s hand gently. He squeezed it very gently and kept his eyes on it instead of Tooru’s face. 

Iwaizumi’s eyes moved lower and his breath got caught in his throat as he noticed the flat part of the sheet where his right leg should have been creating a dent in the sheets. He was unable to tear his eyes from it, even though he should have. 

He felt Tooru squeeze his hand a bit. “Hajime, what are you looking at? Is there something wrong with my legs?” Tooru’s voice sounded raw and unfamiliar to his ears, but his head snapped up to look at him, and he regretted it. 

Tooru let out a shaky breath as he moved his eyes to where Iwaizumi’s eyes had been. He squeezed Iwaizumi’s hands even harder. Iwaizumi turned his eyes to their hands instead. 

Tooru’s breath came out uneven and his heartrate picked up, making the monitor on the side of the bed beep faster. “P-pull the sheets aside.” As determined as he wanted to sound, Tooru knew his voice sounded small and broken. His head felt like it was putty, he couldn’t think and he didn’t know what to feel.

Iwaizumi swallowed thickly around the lump in his throat and gently lifted the sheets to pull them aside. He could hear Tooru’s breath hitch and his hand was squeezed painfully. 

Tooru’s world was crumbling around him. It felt like blackness was swallowing him up slowly, like a berry sinking slowly in a cup of yogurt. Shivers and shudders wrecked through his body, he felt cold, yet too warm. 

Tooru was sure he was breaking into cold sweat, his heartrate leaped out of control. He couldn’t feel it, but he could hear the frantic beeping of the machine. His vision was blurred and he could see small black spots growing bigger in his vision. 

Iwaizumi barely had time to react before Tooru was falling backwards. He could see that his eyes were rolling backwards into his head and his head was heading straight for the hard frame of the bedpost behind him. 

Leaping forward with his arms stretched out, Iwaizumi managed to catch Tooru’s head before it hit the frame. Unfortunately for him, the weight and speed of Tooru’s head made his arms collide harshly with the frame. 

Iwaizumi had just managed to get Tooru’s head down onto the pillow again when doctors and nurses filled the room and they were nearly pushed out of the room. 

His heart was thumping wildly in his chest but he didn’t notice it. He didn’t notice the throbbing pain on both sides of his forearms either. The only thing running through his head was if Tooru was okay, but he knew he wasn’t okay. 

Iwaizumi wanted this to be a bad dream, so that he could wake up. So that Tooru could wake up and be okay. 

The reality of their situation was like a smack in the face for Iwaizumi. It wasn’t a dream; there was nothing to wake up from. Life is a cruel bitch and this was just the start of a hard battle. 

Iwaizumi knew he wasn’t ready for this, he knew that without thinking. However, he was sure that Tooru would have it at least a hundred times worse. Just the emotional part was bound to be excruciating for Tooru. 

The world was cruel and heartless, this much Iwaizumi knew. Despite knowing that, despite everything, he felt helpless. There was nothing he could do for Tooru at this point. Absolutely nothing. 

This entire situation was a new field for him, he didn’t know how to act, how to be, how to function. He could only pray and hope that Tooru had no complications of this. 

\--------------------- 

Iwaizumi didn’t get more time to think before one of the nurses in Tooru’s room came out to him and asked to see his arms. He obliged and rolled up the sleeves of his sweater. 

He could see the nurse breathing out relieved and he tilted his head confused. She cleared her throat and looked at him. Her eyes were brown, darker than Tooru’s. “We were afraid you had injured yourself. However, you should put some ice on them before they start swelling.” She didn’t smile, but she didn’t look angry. For some reason, Iwaizumi felt like he could trust her. 

He nodded. “I’ll do that.” He wasn’t lying. He didn’t want to be even more useless. 

Being sucked back into his own thoughts, he was startled when the nurse started talking again. “If you hadn’t caught his head the way you did, there’s no telling how badly he’d be injured.” This time she looked sad. Iwaizumi couldn’t look her in the face when she looked sad. Seeing sad people always made his heart clench painfully in his chest. 

Only nodding weakly to her, he swallowed thickly and felt the queasy feeling in his stomach again. To focus on something else, he looked to the side and saw Tooru’s parents talking with a doctor. Iwaizumi didn’t want to know what they were talking about. 

Turning away from them, he thanked the nurse for the advice and walked away from them all. He wanted to be alone, yet he wanted to be around Tooru. He was a mess; everything was a mess right now. 

As he walked down to the first floor to get some ice for his arms, he felt his nausea bubble up his throat again. A pang of panic settled in his chest and he had to lean against the wall in order to not fall right down. 

He clenched his eyes shut and tried to calm down his breathing, but it was futile. His breathing was ragged and heavy but it felt like he didn’t get enough oxygen. Iwaizumi was dizzy and nauseous and he just wanted to lay down. 

Unfortunately, his prayer was heard sooner than he expected. Iwaizumi could just barely manage to make out the figure of a nurse running toward him before his body went completely limp and his eyes rolled back. 

Everything went black and it almost felt like he was drowning. Iwaizumi wanted out of this. 

\-----------------

When he came to, the first thing he heard was the beeping of a monitor. He didn’t think it was coming from something attached to himself, but he wasn’t sure. What he was sure about was that his arms were throbbing and his head was throbbing.

The pain was somewhat dull, so he could open his eyes quite easily. The room was lit dimly and there were two sets of voices in the room. 

The first voice he recognized as Tooru’s mother and the other voice he guessed was a doctor. The voices came closer, probably because they noticed he was awake. Iwaizumi wasn’t sure. 

“Oh, Hajime. You’re awake.” Tooru’s mother had a look of sheer worry on her face, but Iwaizumi still wasn’t completely sure what was going on. “Yeah, but what’s going on?” His voice sounded gruff again and he had to swallow. Talking with a dry throat wasn’t the best idea. 

Tooru’s mother smiled a bit sadly and sat down beside the bed. “Hajime, you got two small fractures in your arms when you saved Tooru’s head from hitting the frame. You also passed out, most likely from shock and dehydration.” She reached for his hand and squeezed it gently. “We called your parents and we thought you’d like to… be close to Tooru.” 

Iwaizumi nodded slowly and looked to his side. What met his vision was Tooru in the hospital bed, sleeping. It calmed Iwaizumi down a bit, but it also made his head throb more. Now he truly was useless. 

\---------------------

Iwaizumi’s arms healed up pretty nicely over the next few days and Tooru was coming a bit more to terms with his new situation. 

The day Tooru had looked at his leg willingly, he had been quiet. Iwaizumi had opened his mouth to talk to him but he stopped because Tooru had sighed and swallowed. “It still feels like it’s there, even if I look at it. Sometimes it itches too. I suppose this is what they call phantom pains?” 

Tooru still wasn’t himself, but Iwaizumi couldn’t blame him. However, he blamed himself. Even now, he wasn’t able to do anything. Moreover, having messed up his arms made him pretty useless for everything. 

“Hey, Hajime?” Tooru turned his head to look at him and Iwaizumi noticed the dark bags under his eyes. He didn’t comment on it, he never did these days. “Yeah, Tooru?” Iwaizumi turned to look at him as well, but he didn’t look him in the eyes. 

“Did you really mess up your arms while saving me, like the nurses say you did?” Tooru just looks at him and there’s something about his eyes. Iwaizumi couldn’t put his finger on what it was. 

“Yeah, I did.” Iwaizumi smiled a bit and looked up at the ceiling. “I always knew your head was kinda heavy, but to be that fast when falling.” He shook his head and chuckled lowly. He hoped he didn’t get in too deep. 

Everything was silent for a while, and then Tooru started chuckling. “How mean, Hajime.” Tooru was grinning and laughing, and Iwaizumi was too. It was as if life was coming back to the white, sterile hospital room. It was as if life came back to Iwaizumi at the sound of Tooru’s laugh. 

Even though the situation was crap, they could laugh. It made it a bit more bearable. The lurking sadness and depressed energy was kept at bay. 

\------------

The days that followed where filled with check-ups, for both of them. Tooru’s check-ups where longer than his, but it was to be expected. After all, Tooru’s injuries were more severe than his were. 

Tooru still had periods of intense phantom pains, but they were getting better. Tooru was overall getting better. His leg was healing and he was already getting therapy. It seemed to help. 

During one of his check-ups, the nurses told him his arms had healed just fine, though he should take it easy for the next two weeks or so. It made him happy and seeing Tooru give him the thumbs up for it made it even better. 

Finally, he wasn’t useless or vulnerable. He could finally help Tooru that was the biggest reward, for now. 

\---------------

One night, Tooru had been bothered by a nightmare. Not knowing what he should have done, Iwaizumi thought back to their younger days. Back then, the only thing that soothed Tooru was cuddling. Iwaizumi hoped it still counted. 

Iwaizumi swung his legs over the side of the bed and slowly slid himself down so his bare feet touched the floor. He had to suck in a breath, it was really cold. 

He walked the short way over to Tooru’s bed and slowly got into it. He laid on his side, so he could fit. It was a bit weird, because it felt like his ass was falling off the edge of the bed. 

However, that didn’t matter. What mattered was the way Tooru’s facial expression evened out when Iwaizumi kissed his temple and wrapped an arm around him. His breathing out even out too. Tooru looked his best when he was relaxed and it made Iwaizumi relax too. 

The first time it happened, a surprised nurse had rudely awaked them. It had ended in disaster, to put it simply. 

Tooru had raised his head in surprise and knocked his forehead right into Iwaizumi’s jaw. As he was already laying on the edge of the bed, the shock of the impact had sent him right to the floor. 

The nurse was white as a sheet, but Tooru hadn’t cared about that. He had leaned over the edge, grinned and said, “Hey, your butt is probably getting bigger. That was some speed right over the edge.” The grin had reached Tooru’s eyes. 

Iwaizumi had looked up at him in surprise, and then he felt mildly offended. However, it was the look on Tooru’s face that made him start laughing. His ass hurt from falling down, but it didn’t matter. Nothing mattered as long as he could laugh with Tooru. 

\----------

After another week, Tooru’s good periods had become so long that he could have proper visitors. Usually it would only be Tooru’s parents, or Iwaizumi’s parents. However, Tooru’s parents came more often. Their jobs allowed it. 

The first time the team came over, they were in tears, which made Tooru tear up too. Kindaichi had been sobbing into Kunimi’s shoulder. Kunimi wasn’t amused by that, at all. 

Sadayuki had hugged them both and wished them a good recovery. That made the cup of tears get too full for Tooru. Iwaizumi was there though, so he stroked his hair and told him it was okay. Tooru had struggled to stop crying after that, so the team would have to come back later. They understood, Iwaizumi was thankful for that. 

The next people that came by to visit were Kageyama and Hinata. They had brought with some DVDs of alien movies and some flowers. Iwaizumi could see that Tooru had wanted to be sassy about it, but instead he had teared up and opened his arms. The hugs weren’t awkward, as Iwaizumi feared they’d be. 

He was proud at that point. Proud because Tooru let go of his pride around Kageyama. Proud because Kageyama didn’t let his temper get the best of him. Tooru had gotten a hug from Hinata too. Iwaizumi could see the young boy cared about Tooru, even if he didn’t really know them. 

The entire scene was very sweet to Iwaizumi, but he kept his head high and his hand in Tooru’s. 

When they had left, visiting hours were closed for everyone but Iwaizumi, who had been allowed to stay. He was discharged from the hospital, but the doctors and nurses saw that Tooru made the most progress when Iwaizumi was around. 

Thus, he was allowed to stay. Tooru had a private room either way, and they usually managed to fit in the bed together. On days that wasn’t a good idea, he’d sleep in the chair. 

It only took them a few days to get a two-seated couch in the room. That made it a bit more comfortable. It had made them laugh though. 

\---------

After a month had passed, the doctors deemed Tooru ready to start the rehab to be able to walk again. Well, they had asked him what he wished first. However, Tooru’s answer came before the doctor had finished talking. 

“I want to walk again. Even if I can’t play volleyball, I want to walk again.” Tooru had looked directly at the doctor and spoke with such determination that it surprised both the doctor and Iwaizumi. 

What Tooru didn’t realize, was that that was type of determination it would take to go through the rehab. Nothing the doctors said could have prepared Tooru for what he was about to go through. 

\-----------

Considering Tooru was still struggling with phantom pains, they had started quite easy with the therapy and the start of the rehab. Some easy exercises were set up for him, but even those were hard. 

The rehab was originally four steps that hopefully would be completed within 12 months. However, problems arose. 

The first step went pretty smoothly. Tooru got the strength back in every part of his body, but most importantly in his good leg. 

It was at the start of step two that problems started to arise. The hospital had a simulator, but in order to get the simulator to work, you had to wear a sort of ‘cup’ on the stump that stimulated a leg in the ‘game’ to see if your brain still remembered how to walk. 

This was meant to prepare for the actual fitting of a prosthetic leg. It sounded easy enough for Tooru. It proved to be harder than he thought. 

The moment the ‘cup’ had been slid on his stump, his eyes had fluttered and he had thrown up before passing out. It had shocked everyone, but Iwaizumi had still reacted. He had saved Tooru again. 

Tooru’s mood had stooped right down to the bottom after that, but he had agreed to try again in seven days. Iwaizumi could tell he wasn’t going to talk about it. He wasn’t going to press the issue, that would never work out. 

\----------

A month more than planned had been used on the second step and while Tooru wanted to be glad his pains were weaker, he blamed himself for using so much time. His therapists and his doctor assured him that wasn’t the case, but he didn’t listen. 

They decided to give him a small break, just a few days, to collect himself on. Iwaizumi figured Tooru needed those days. 

However, he was taken by surprise one of those nights. Tooru had called him over to lay in the bed with him, and Iwaizumi had agreed. 

He had kept his hand on Tooru’s waist, thus been surprised when Tooru grabbed it and moved it to his thigh. Iwaizumi didn’t comment on it, but he looked up at Tooru with a confused look. Tooru returned it with a sad expression. 

“Hajime. Am I attractive?” As before, Tooru’s voice sounded so small and broken that Iwaizumi had to swallow around a lump in his throat. Before he could speak, or even think, Tooru had continued. “Even with this… horrible excuse of a leg, am I attractive to you? Would I be attractive to anyone, Hajime?” 

Tooru had looked at him with such a desperate look that Iwaizumi didn’t know what to do. Once again, Tooru continued pouring his heart out to him, without letting him have time to collect his thoughts. 

“I feel so ugly and weak. Like a baby swan.” Tooru clenched his fists into Iwaizumi’s shirt and breathed out slowly. Iwaizumi finally knew what to say. “Baby swans grow up to be beautiful, don’t they? You might feel ugly now, but it can change.” He looked at Tooru and kissed his forehead gently before continuing. 

“You’re attractive to me. You’ve always been attractive to me, and you’ll always be. Losing your leg… changed you, but it didn’t make you ugly.” Iwaizumi’s voice sounded sharp, he was aware of that, but he could see they had influenced Tooru. He hoped it was in a good way. 

\-------------

When the days were up, Tooru’s mood was a lot better. It made Iwaizumi happy. 

With the second step completed, they could move on to the third step. The third step was fitting a prostethic leg and learning to stand on it without any issues. Tooru was ready to grip the challenge. 

This time, he was prepared for hard work and struggling. Although they were weak, his phantom pains were still there. That would prove to be a challenge. Tooru was ready for this challenge though. Iwaizumi was his support, and it helped a lot. 

It took a while to pick out the prosthetic leg that would fit Tooru the most, but that was easy in comparison to actually having the leg on his stump. Not only would it be hard to get used to, but the weak phantom pains could act up again. 

The physiotherapist had been very clear about the things that could easily happen while he was getting used to the feeling of the prosthetic leg. Tooru and Iwaizumi were prepared, but it would be different to deal with it. 

The first time he had gotten it on; Tooru had doubled over and thrown up. It had shocked Iwaizumi at first, although the physiotherapist said it was normal for those who had struggled with phantom pains. 

Two weeks of doubling over and throwing up was what it took Tooru to be able to stand without throwing up. He said that it still wasn’t comfortable, but it didn’t make him impulsively hurl. 

Iwaizumi couldn’t help but be worried as he held Tooru’s hands, who was standing on his prosthetic leg and trying to put weight on it. He could see lines of pain and concentration appear on Tooru’s forehead. 

“You’re doing well, Tooru.” Their eyes locked and Tooru flashed him a small smile. “I’m doing well.” He didn’t smile any wider, but Iwaizumi understood it was because of concentration. He knew Tooru felt he couldn’t afford a relapse right now. 

Tooru’s physiotherapist had smiled at them from where she stood. “You might be able to advance to the last, yet most important step soon, Tooru.” Tooru had smiled back at her and squeezed Iwaizumi’s hands. However, it was too early to be happy. 

\-----------

The fourth step was learning to walk. It had taken time, but they were certain, the simulator confirmed that Tooru’s brain remembered how to walk. 

That would be extremely useful during this step. It would make the step easier, in theory anyway. Iwaizumi wasn’t so sure; he could tell the physiotherapist thought the same. She advised Iwaizumi to hold his hands, for the entire period of the step. 

Iwaizumi didn’t mind, but it also meant he had to conceal his emotions. He couldn’t break, if Tooru broke in front of him. As the physiotherapist put it, He was Tooru’s most important pillar of support and motivation. 

She said, “Think of it as a personal trainer. You’re there to support him, but you’re also there to make sure he gives 100 percent at all times. Sometimes you might have to talk harshly to keep his motivation up.” She had been very serious when she said it, but Iwaizumi was up to the task. 

\-----------

The first month of the last step was spent in agony. Tooru had started tearing up and squeezing Iwaizumi’s hands painfully tight at every session. Sometimes it left Iwaizumi’s hands numb. 

Most nights during the first month, Tooru would be sleeping as deep as a baby would. He would be near impossible to wake up. However, the good thing was that he slept without nightmares, most nights. 

Then again, that might have been because Iwaizumi was sleeping in the hospital bed with him. It had the same effect now, as it had when they were young. It calmed Tooru down. Iwaizumi was his dreamcatcher. 

\----------

Every session was excruciating for Tooru, but by the half of the second month had passed, Tooru could walk a few steps with almost no pain. 

Iwaizumi had needed to talk harshly to him only once. Scowls and snorts however, were very used. The physiotherapist had been confused at first, but she saw it worked. She couldn’t even begin to understand how deep the bond between Tooru and Iwaizumi was. 

\--------- 

Small improvements kept happening over the next few weeks, then Iwaizumi got the biggest shock since the accident happened. 

“Please understand. Tooru himself wishes to finish the rehab by himself. I understand this is hard for you after all this time but he does this for you. Just be patient, it will be worth it.” The physiotherapist had her palms flat against Iwaizumi’s chest, but he didn’t try to fight it. He had been a part of Tooru’s rehab for over half a year, he trusted her. 

“I’m not happy about this, but fine. If that’s what he wants.” He backed off, walked away and only looked back once. A part of him was excited about this, but a larger part of him was worried. 

Regardless of that, Iwaizumi stayed away. However, he did take Tooru’s parents up on their offer to stay with them. Going back home would only serve to make him restless and much more worried than he needed to be. 

Then again, anything related to Tooru served to make Iwaizumi more restless and worried than he needed to be. This was no different. 

\----------

When he knew the time was up for the rehab, he got a call from Tooru. He was sitting in the living room of the Oikawa family’s house, all alone, because Tooru’s parents were at work. 

He could feel his palms being covered in a thin layer of sweat, but he picked up the phone anyway. 

“Hey, Hajime. Could you meet me at the place where we had our first date?” The tone of Tooru’s voice was light, inviting even. It was weird and out of habit, Iwaizumi nodded. 

Then he remembered that Tooru couldn’t see that. “Yeah, yeah, I’ll meet you there Tooru.” His throat felt dry again all of a sudden. It got worse when Tooru continued talking. “Good. Oh, can you wear that dark maroon shirt I gave you? I like that shirt on you.” Tooru sounded a lot better, and it was weird. 

Over the phone, Iwaizumi had a hard time finding out if what tone was legit or not. “Yeah. I’ll wear the shirt, and I’ll be right there.” He tried to not sound too excited, but he was. He wanted to see Tooru again. 

“I’ll see you then, Hajime.” Iwaizumi could almost hear the smile in Tooru’s voice this time, and it brought a smile to his face too. “Yeah. I’ll see you then.” Iwaizumi smiled, hung up and ran up the stairs to get the shirt and change his pants. 

Before five minutes had passed, Iwaizumi was on his way out the door. He was both excited and nervous. His stomach was feeling queasy again, but he just wanted to see Tooru. 

\---------

Tooru hadn’t been waiting long when he saw Iwaizumi jog up to the gym hall at Aobajousai high school. He looked so nervous, Tooru could tell from the way he was jogging. 

When Iwaizumi came to a stop in front of him, he stared at him. “Tooru-” He could tell Iwaizumi wasn’t sure what was going on. “Shh. Hajime, let me talk for a moment here.” He doesn’t move, but he can tell Iwaizumi’s attention was all on him. 

“I love you, you know that, Hajime. You’ve always been my dreamcatcher, my pillar of support.” Tooru scratched the back of his neck a bit. “This, all of this. This past year has brought us closer. We’ve both hidden things from each other. But I’m going to spill my secret Hajime.” Tooru took a deep breath and looked at Iwaizumi. 

“I love you. As a friend, but also as something more. I’m hopelessly in love with you. This year made me see just how much I love you. I’m done hiding. I’m done making bad excuses. I lost a leg, and you were there, every step of the way. You’re my pillar, but also my dreamcatcher. If you hold me, I’m safe and I have no bad dreams.” Tooru finished with a smile and walked from the middle of the gym hall and to the door. 

Both Tooru’s speech and his walk baffled Iwaizumi. It wasn’t perfect, but he was walking, and he didn’t look like he was in pain. 

“You love me. You can walk, but you also love me.” The words tumbled out of Iwaizumi’s mouth so fast he wasn’t even sure if he spoke them correctly. All he could do now was stare at Tooru. He was pretty sure his mouth was agape. 

Tooru just smiled. “Is that all you have to say, Hajime?” He tilted his head and Iwaizumi shook his head. “It’s just so unbelievable. But you know, you’re my dreamcatcher too. It ain’t just you that have good dreams.” Iwaizumi has to stop and take a deep breath before continuing. 

“I love you too, Tooru. I love you so much.” Iwaizumi can’t hold it, he breaks into a grin and jumps up the three small steps and lifts Tooru up by his hips. 

He can tell his answer baffles Tooru, but he recovers faster than Iwaizumi did. A melodious laughter fills Iwaizumi’s ears and he can feel warm fingers thread through his short hair. Iwaizumi can’t help but start laughing too. 

“You can walk!” He laughs and spins Tooru around while holding him. Tooru laughs and clings to him. “I can walk!” Tooru grins and moves his hands to cup Iwaizumi’s face, and then their lips meet. It’s as natural as breathing. 

Their lips meet again, then Tooru is put down. He keeps his arms around Iwaizumi’s neck. “Hey, Hajime?” Tooru grins and leans his forehead to Iwaizumi’s forehead. He’s grinning too. 

“Yeah, Tooru?” Iwaizumi looks right at him. His cheeks hurt from smiling, there’s butterflies in his stomach and his skin is tingling, but none of that matters. What matters is Tooru, who’s standing right in front of him. 

“Do you want to be my boyfriend?” Tooru sees that Iwaizumi’s eyes are glossy, but he’s still grinning. Tooru knows that every day of pain since the accident was worth it. Every painful session and finishing rehab alone was worth it, because he got to see this look of absolute adoration and love. 

“Do you even need to ask, dumbass?” Iwaizumi’s voice is thick, like he’s about to cry. Tooru feels like crying too, but he settles for kissing Iwaizumi again, as he’s wanted to do for years. 

They’re in the middle of the gym hall at Aobajousai high, but they feel like the top of the world. 

Is that the feeling you’re supposed to get when you’ve been through hell and finally get what makes you feel whole? Tooru thinks so. And he’s not ready to let this feeling go, ever. 

He lost a leg, but he got Iwaizumi Hajime, and he can walk again. Life is going to be fine, Tooru can feel it.

**Author's Note:**

> you see? I had many things I could have called it, but I settled for dreamcatcher because it represents their bond. And support is one of the most important things you can have when you're in a situation like this. I might make ficlets of anything that doesn't make sense in the fic, I don't know yet.


End file.
